Relationship of lower limb height to sitting height in black populations of Africa and the United States.

This article examines a recently reported generalization. Materials from more than a score of invetigations are drawn upon. These materials show there is not a substantial research base for the claim that interbreeding in the United States between black people of African ancestry and white people of European ancestry has resulted in increased lower limb height relative to sitting height.     

人工微生物混菌系统机制解析中的组学应用及进展

人工微生物混菌系统的生物工程应用价值日益受到重视,使得对于混菌系统中成员菌间的相互作用机制研究也成为近年来的一个热点。其研究结果一方面可以为现有人工混菌系统的进一步优化提供理论依据,另一方面也为全新混菌系统的人工构建提供新的思路和策略,进而促进人工微生物混菌系统未来规模化应用。基因组学、转录组学、蛋白质组学和代谢组学等研究方法能够高通量分析各种生物分子、提供大量的数据与信息,多组学分析可以获得混菌系统中细胞的“全景”,在揭示人工微生物混菌系统中各个成员间的相互作用的研究中有着特殊的意义。文中综述了近年来多种组学技术在人工微生物混菌系统机制解析中的应用及研究进展,从代谢网络、能量代谢、信号转导、膜转运、胁迫响应、混菌系统的稳定性以及结构合理性等方面探讨混菌系统机制解析的最新进展,以期为利用合成生物学、基因组编辑等新兴生物技术改造微生物混菌系统实现其工程化应用提供理论依据。     

Development of the hand and wrist bones in chimpanzees

Skeletal developmental of chimpanzees was studied cross-sectionally. By application of the TW2 method, we described the skeletal development of chimpanzees and compared their skeletal development with humans'. A development pattern of chimpanzees repeated accelerations and decelerations displaying “early-juvenile trough,” “pre-adolescent peak,” “mid-adolescent trough,” and “post-adolescent peak” in incremental curves. Sex differences in skeletal development are slower development in males during infant and early juvenile phases, and greater increment around the adolescent phase in males. Females are fully mature at younger ages than males, e.g. about one and a half years. In comparison with chimpanzees, humans have such characteristics as a longer slower period of juvenile development and a shorter spurt-like adolescent fast period which ends with full maturity.     

The seasonal dynamics of Copidodiaptomus numidicus (Gurney, 1909) and Thermocyclops dybowskii (Lande, 1890) in Castelo-do-Bode Reservoir

We investigated the population dynamics of Copidodiaptomus numidicus (Copepoda: Calanoida) and Thermocyclops dybowskii (Copepoda: Cyclopoida) in Castelo-do-Bode Reservoir (Portugal). Both species in the reservoir were regulated mainly by food availability during the summers of 1993 and 1994. C. numidicus was always more abundant than T. dybowskii in the reservoir. C. numidicus produced two generations during the sampling period of both years whereas T. dybowskii produced two and three generations in 1993 and 1994, respectively. Because of high temperatures and low rainfall in 1994, the reservoir was more eutrophic than in 1993. Higher clutch size and a higher percentage of ovigerous females suggest that both species were benefiting from better feeding conditions in 1994. Despite this, population growth was reduced in 1994 relatively to 1993. Vertebrate predation and predation by copepods seem to have been minor factors in explaining this decline. However, the presence of Mesostoma sp. in the reservoir may have contributed to the reduction of both copepod populations during specific periods in 1994 although the calanoid was more affected than the cyclopoid by this predation.     

Interannual variation in condition of the mackerel icefish

Mackerel icefish Champsocephalus gunnari are widespread on the South Georgia (54° S, 36° W) shelf. Analysis of condition indicated a strong interannual variation. High condition indices, indicative of good feeding conditions, were present when krill were abundant in the region. Years when krill were scarce and condition index was consequently low, were consistent with years when indices from land-based krill predators also indicated that krill were scarce.     

Amazonian biodiversity: assessing conservation priorities with taxonomic data

Data from 3991 records of museum collections representing 421 species of plants, arthropods, amphibians, fish, and primates were analyzed with GIS to identify areas of high species diversity and endemism in Amazonia. Of the 472 1 × 1° grid cells in Amazonia, only nine cells are included in the highest species diversity category (43–67 total species) and nine in the highest endemic species diversity category (4–13 endemic species). Over one quarter of the grid cells have no museum records of any of the organisms in our study. Little correspondence exists between the centers of species diversity identified by our collections-based data and those areas recommended for conservation in an earlier qualitative study of Amazonian biodiversity. Museum collections can play a vital role in identifying species-rich areas for potential conservation in Amazonia, but a concerted and structured effort to increase the number and distribution of collections is needed to take maximum advantage of the information they contain.     

How do elevated CO2 and O3 affect the interception and utilization of radiation by a soybean canopy?

Net productivity of vegetation is determined by the product of the efficiencies with which it intercepts light (?_i) and converts that intercepted energy into biomass (?_c). Elevated carbon dioxide (CO₂) increases photosynthesis and leaf area index (LAI) of soybeans and thus may increase ?_i and ?_c; elevated O₃ may have the opposite effect. Knowing if elevated CO₂ and O₃ differentially affect physiological more than structural components of the ecosystem may reveal how these elements of global change will ultimately alter productivity. The effects of elevated CO₂ and O₃ on an intact soybean ecosystem were examined with Soybean Free Air Concentration Enrichment (SoyFACE) technology where large field plots (20‐m diameter) were exposed to elevated CO₂ (～550 μmol mol^?1) and elevated O₃ (1.2 × ambient) in a factorial design. Aboveground biomass, LAI and light interception were measured during the growing seasons of 2002, 2003 and 2004 to calculate ?_i and ?_c. A 15% increase in yield (averaged over 3 years) under elevated CO₂ was caused primarily by a 12% stimulation in ?_c , as ?_i increased by only 3%. Though accelerated canopy senescence under elevated O₃ caused a 3% decrease in ?_i, the primary effect of O₃ on biomass was through an 11% reduction in ?_c. When CO₂ and O₃ were elevated in combination, CO₂ partially reduced the negative effects of elevated O₃. Knowing that changes in productivity in elevated CO₂ and O₃ were influenced strongly by the efficiency of conversion of light energy into energy in plant biomass will aid in optimizing soybean yields in the future. Future modeling efforts that rely on ?_c for calculating regional and global plant productivity will need to accommodate the effects of global change on this important ecosystem attribute.     

上海地区某三级医院新职工岗前培训效果分析

目的 旨在通过对我院岗前培训8年经验的总结，摸索出一套在医院文化背景下的岗前培训体系。方法 采用问卷方法对2007—2009年新员工岗前培训效果进行匿名调查，并使用Excel进行数据录入和统计。结果 调查对象中76.63%的员工对师资配置情况及课程设置情况表示满意，54.08%的员工对培训时间与进度表示很合适，69.47%的员工对培训保障措施表示满意，69.42%和80.08%的员工分别对授课形式和培训受益情况表示满意。结论 医院文化及人文医学培训是医院人力资源处岗前培训的核心内容，这对每个从医人员树立正确的职业价值观具有指导作用和现实意义。岗前培训中培训师的授课技巧、专业知识及能力有待进一步提高，今后应不断完善内部培训师的培养途径与方法。